


so a slytherin and a hufflepuff walk into a bar

by swanmills



Series: Swan Queen Week 2015 [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, Femslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 18:33:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4359797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swanmills/pseuds/swanmills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They bond over the common fact that they're a disappointment to their parents. </p>
<p>Slytherin!Emma and Hufflepuff!Regina because WHY NOT. For SQ Week Day 5: Best Friends to Romance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	so a slytherin and a hufflepuff walk into a bar

When Emma went aboard the Hogwarts train for the first time, she sat in the first empty compartment she could find, and the breathed in a sigh of relief.  
She was alone.  
As much as she loved her parents, she was glad professors were in a different compartment in another part of the train. It had taken five minutes of a tearful reminition of how great Hogwarts had been during her mother, Mary Margaret’s, student years, and then slight persuasion from her father to get her mother to leave their daughter, that she was old enough, that she would be okay. After a tight hug from the both of them, and a kiss on the forehead from her mother, they left.  
Emma liked to be alone. Her parents smothered her so often, which, while not necessarily a bad thing, it made her cherish the moments where she could think. Outside of a few family members and her parent’s friends with their own children, Emma didn’t know many people. She lived in a bubble social bubble for the majority of her life, and coming to Hogwarts, she was thrilled at the idea of meeting new people.  
A lady passed by her compartment with a cart filled with as many types of candy as Emma could count. “Would you like any candy?” the woman asked.  
Emma, not very hungry, shook her head. “No thanks,” she said, and the woman shuffled her cart and herself away. Emma saw a few more people dart in and out of compartments, but they were never hers. She sighed, thankful, and ended up falling asleep pretty quickly.

Regina stared at the book, but she wasn’t really read it. Instead, she looked around the compartment she had snuck into a few minutes ago. The compartment her mother wanted her to be seated in was full of snotty rich kids who thought they were better because they were pureblooded, and that made her uncomfortable. Regina was a pureblood herself, but it didn’t mean she hated people that weren’t. With her mother not by her side, she had moved into one that was on the other side of the Hogwarts Express, pushing shoulders and getting her way around the crowded train as she clutched the book to her chest. It was the only thing she had needed to carry, as all of the luggage was in the back of the train, in a room that was magically bigger than the space it took up.  
Her compartment only had one other girl in it, and she looked to be about Regina’s age. She was snoozing, her blonde hair haphazardly around her face and her body sprawled across the bench. She had a pair of thick glasses in one of her several robe pockets.  
Realizing there was nothing interesting going on, Regina went to reading.

About three hours into the ride, Regina heard an interrupted snore and a thump. Looking up from her text, she saw the girl who had been sleeping had fallen on the floor, coughing. The girl sat up, taking her glasses out of her pocket, only to see the lenses broken. She held them up to get a better look at the damage.  
“Aw, snap,” she said, sighing. “Literally.”  
“Would you like me to get someone to fix them?” Regina asked, remember the page she was on and setting her book down.  
“Nah, I’m good.” The girl jumped back up onto the seat, her legs swinging. “They’re enchanted. They’ll be good as new in about an hour. I break them a lot.”  
“Your parents must get upset that you break them so often,” said Regina.  
“Not really.” Emma stuffed her glasses back into her pocket. “They’re pretty chill, especially considering I’m gonna have them for a class or two this year.”  
“Who are your parents?” Regina asked.  
Emma laughed. “Professor Nolan and Professor White!”  
“Oh.” Regina knew who they were, as her mother complained about them often. How they were soft, how White, a pure blood, from a good family, would ever want to marry a mudblood. Professor Nolan was the Care of Magical Creatures professor, while Professor White taught Herbology. She had heard of their daughter, too, in mentioning. Emma.  
“Do you know who they are? Do you like them?” Emma moved to the opposite bench from where she had been sitting, so she sat next to Regina.  
“I know of them,” said Regina. “My mother… she’s a professor, too.”  
“Really?” Emma smiled. “Who?”  
“Professor Mills,” Regina muttered, staring out the window. Staring out of the corner of her eye, she say Emma’s expression falter. Needless to say, Emma had heard of her mother. Professor Mills, Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She had been trying to get Headmaster Gold’s position for almost a decade, too, her ambition (to put it nicely) one of the first things that popped into someone’s head when the name “Cora Mills” was spoken.  
But instead of an insult, Emma had said, “Hey, that means we’re both first years! Regina, right? I’m Emma! What House do you think you’ll get in?”  
Regina looked at Emma, shocked that she changed the topic. She had even sounded excited. Regina shrugged, though, still unconvinced. “I don’t know. I’m expected to be in Slytherin. If not, my mother will get really mad.”  
“I feel ya,” sighed Emma. Regina gave her a look to tell her more, and Emma continued. “Both of my parents were in Hufflepuff. They tell me stories as if they think I’m in Hufflepuff already. It’s kind of exhausting. I don’t even know if I want to be in Hufflepuff. It seems so… dull. Not in a bad way, I just…” Emma held up her fists, tightening them as she thought of all the possibilities. “I want adventure.”  
“Well, hopefully you find it.” Regina gave Emma a warm smile.  
Emma grinned back. “You, too!”

Emma and Regina ended up riding in the same boat, as they stuck together after the train ride ended. It wasn’t as if they didn’t know anyone else; Emma saw plenty of people she recognized, and the same with Regina. They were comfortable in each other’s company. The subconscious of each of them realized that their families weren’t the best of friends, but their friendship had blossomed naturally. Regina liked how Emma made her laugh because of almost anything, and Emma liked to hear Regina’s input on things, even if she tended to ramble. Emma could tell Regina rarely got to voice her opinion. With a mother like Cora Mills, who could? So Emma let her talk.  
As they neared the castle, the boat rocking, Emma whispered, “I feel like I’m gonna puke.” She glanced at Regina, a nervous, but excited, look in her wild green eyes.  
“Seasickness is common when you’re not used to travelling on water,” Regina stated.  
“Not about that,” Emma chuckled. “I meant that we’re finally going to Hogwarts!”  
It seemed like only seconds later they had gotten off the boat and were waiting in the Grand Hall, the small crowd of first years excitedly chattering about what was going to happen.  
Headmaster Gold gave a speech, and the Sorting Hat sang its song. Emma and Regina looked at each other, smiling nervously.  
Regina went before Emma did. Emma gave her a cheeky grin, and Regina have a wavering one back. She stepped up to the stool, and the hat was placed on top of her head.  
Emma watched as Regina was nervously looking up at the hat, blushing slightly. The hat then made its decision.  
“Hufflepuff!”  
Regina’s eyes widened and her blush became more prominent, as she got up and scuttled to the Hufflepuff table as quickly as she could. Emma could tell Regina was too afraid to look at her mother, so when Emma’s eyes went in Emma’s direction, Emma gave her a double thumbs up and mouthed ‘It’s okay!’  
Regina tried smiling at her, though Emma couldn’t see it didn’t reach her eyes. She would protect Regina when she got sorted into Hufflepuff. From her mother, from people that would judge her… She’d do it without a thought.  
Except that it would never happen. The Sorting Hat barely touched Emma before declaring that she be in Slytherin. And while Emma was a little disappointed she wouldn’t be in the same House as Regina, she was too excited to care. _Slytherin_! That would definitely give her the adventure she yearned.  
She was graciously welcomed at the Slytherin table. Before she could choose where to sit, a hand grabbed at her robes and pulled her to sit down near them. Emma sat down and took a glance at her parents, just a quick one. Her dad had a hand on her mother’s shoulder, and he seemed to comforting her, who still seemed to be shocked at the Sorting Hat’s decision. She was staring right at Emma. She hastily averted her eyes, and heart deflated a small bit.  
“Hey, why ya down?” Emma looked to see the owner of the hand that had roughly grabbed her. Her long brown hair wildly sitting on her shoulders and her eyes, the same color, had a curious gaze. “You okay?”  
“My parents,” Emma said, her words barely audible. “They probably hate me ‘cause I’m in Slytherin.” She quickly realized what she had said, and shook her head, her hands coming up in defense. “Not that I’m upset! I’m _excited_ to be in Slytherin. But both of them were in Hufflepuff… I feel like I disappointed them.”  
“They’ll get over it,” the older girl said. She stuck out her hand. “Ruby Lucas, third year. Slytherin is the best House here, and I can promise you that. You’re gonna have the time of your life.”  
Emma shyly shook Ruby’s hand. “Well, then, I can’t wait.” She looked around, and saw Regina talking to the Hufflepuffs at her table. She whispered near Ruby’s ear, as if it were a secret. “Do you know when we can talk to people from the other houses? Like, is that okay? Is Slytherin cool with that?”  
“Hey, only a few of the purebloods here are rude and racist,” said Ruby. “Don’t judge a book by its cover. I’m assuming your friend’s in Hufflepuff?”  
Emma’s eyes widened by a fraction, and she nodded in confirmation.  
Ruby laughed. “It was easy to tell. Seriously, though, don’t worry. By the time the first two weeks are over, there aren’t really tables for one House. People sit with their friends from different Houses all the time. Sitting with your House is just tradition for the first few days.”  
“Really?” Emma wondered. She fixed her glasses. “I didn’t know that.”  
“Well, duh,” said Ruby, playfully rolling her eyes. “You’re a first year. Also, a lot of the classes are more intermingled than they were ten or twenty years ago, so you could have classes with your friend, too. First years don’t have as many elective options, so you’re _bound_ to have something with them.”  
“Good,” Emma whispered.  
“So, who’s your friend?” Ruby turned her head, deciding to also take a look at the Hufflepuff table. “Mind pointing them out to me?”  
“Okay, ummm….. She has black hair?” Emma tried.  
“Great!” Ruby said, her voice filled with sarcasm. “That narrows it down to a lot of people.”  
“Oh!” said Emma, watching Regina reach over the table to grab something. She waggled her finger at her without making a big scene. “That’s her.”  
Ruby looked at Emma, her eyebrows practically at her hairline. “Your ‘friend’ is Regina Mills?”  
Emma’s own eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. “Yeah? I know her mom’s Professor Mills… but… she’s not like her mom at all.”  
“Well,” Ruby mused, turning back around. “She _is_ in Hufflepuff, after all.”  
“See?” Emma said, elbowing Ruby. “Told ya.”  
“Yeah, yeah,” Ruby laughs. “Don’t think that’ll happen often. There’s no reason for you to get a big head, yours is big enough.”  
“Hey!”

—

Emma saw Regina the next day. They ended up having three classes together: Transfiguration, Potions, and Astronomy. In Transfigurations, the dronings of Professor Hopper were extremely boring, and since Emma and Regina were in the back of the class, Emma decided she had been quiet for too long.  
“Psst,” she whispered. “Regina!”  
Regina looked at her. “What?”  
“Is Hufflepuff treating you good?” asked Emma, scooting her chair closer towards her.  
“Yeah.” Regina blushed. “My mother is really angry at me, though.”  
“Why?” Emma cocked her head. “I mean, my parents were surprised that I got put into Slytherin, but it’s not your fault, right? The hat chooses, not you.”  
Regina shrugged, her expression looking defeated. “Mother doesn’t seem to think that.”  
“I suppose she would,” Emma sighed. “Kind of ironic that we ended up in each other’s Houses; well, the ones we were expected to be.”  
“I guess.” Regina looked down, and bit her lip.   
“You know what?” Emma said. Regina glanced at Emma, her eyebrows raised in question. “Screw her!”  
“Miss White,” said Professor Hopper. “Do you have a comment to make?”  
Emma blushed, looking down at her shoes. “No, sir.”  
“Ten points from Slytherin.”  
Emma, too embarrassed to make another peep, didn’t speak for the rest of the class period. When it was over, she pulled Regina aside as students walked past them.  
“Really, though,” Emma whispered, her face inches from Regina’s face. “Screw her for thinking down on you for being in Hufflepuff. Screw my parents for thinking I’m gonna be a terrible person because I’m in Slytherin.” Regina looked at Emma, a scared look adorning her face. “What? They haven’t told me, but I can tell.” Emma shrugged. “Wanna make a deal?”  
“What kind of deal?” Regina questioned, skeptical.   
“We don’t judge each other for being in other houses,” Emma started. “We always give each other the benefit of the doubt, and…” Emma’s nose wrinkled in thought, and she pushed up get glasses. An idea quickly forming in her head, her face lit up as she stuck out her hand for Regina to shake. “We become best friends!”  
“Best friends?” Regina asked, her voice quiet  
“Yeah!” Emma smiled, but then it disappeared, and her hand dropped slowly. “Unless… you already have a best friend.”  
Regina shook her head. “No, I was just… surprised. Yeah. I wanna be your friend, Emma.” She grabbed Emma’s hand, shaking it.  
Emma laughed. “Cool! You have Potions next, right?” Regina nodded, so Emma grabbed her by the wrist, tugging her down the stairs. “Let’s go, then!”  
Regina followed Emma quickly enough to where Emma didn’t need to keep ahold of her wrist, but she did, anyway. Usually, Regina would have made the person release their grip, but she let Emma keep it.

—

Their first year, Emma and Regina’s friendship was quick. Their parents were hard to get by at first, Emma’s skeptical at Regina’s intentions, and Cora upset that Regina would hang out with someone whose father was a mudblood. But soon, Emma pleaded at her parents to talk to Professor Mills, who, at the time, had forbidden Regina from communicating with Emma, because Regina was her _best friend_ and _no one understands me like she does_ and they reluctantly managed to persuade Cora to raise the so called “punishment”. Emma and Regina were so thankful they cried for an hour straight after they found out.  
In second year, Regina had been bullied by a group of the “elite” Slytherin, and Emma was so pissed that her _own housemates_ would do such a thing she made a charm so they got wet spots on any pants they wore for the next three weeks, and she never got caught doing it.  
In third year, when they went to Hogsmeade together, Regina wasn’t allowed to go into Honeydukes, so Emma ended up spending most of her money there and when she came back to Regina, her arms filled with candy, regina smiled so hard her eyes watered.  
By the middle of her fourth year, Emma knew she liked girls. Ruby had mentioned having a crush on the library assistant, a quiet Ravenclaw named Belle, and Emma soon realized she liked female Quidditch players that were on posters spread across her side of the dorm wall for more than just their ability. And that’s when she started noticing that Regina’s eyes were a really pretty shade of brown, how Regina had a habit of biting her lip, how her face was really cute and that her nose would involuntary scrunch up during random conversations.  
During the break between her fourth and fifth year, Emma and Regina visited each other many times. They were only twenty minutes from each other by bus, and their parents finally decided they were old enough to go on transportation on their own. They went to history museums where the statues came to life and walked in the park and pointed out all the flowers that changed shape and colors, and one day they were ordering ice cream and Emma looked at Regina as if she was just meeting her for the first time, looking at the tank top and jean shorts and flip flops she was wearing, how her black hair was pulled into a messy bun, and didn’t even realize how long she had been staring until Regina waved her hand in front of Emma’s face and said, “Well? Are you going to order or not?”  
And by the beginning of fifth year, she knew she liked Regina. She had ended up going to Ruby and crying about it for ten minutes, who had been a seventh year by then. Because Regina got her. Regina gave Emma all of her chocolate frog cards, and in return, Emma gave her all the details on the Quidditch matches (because Regina’s mother did not let her go see them). They snuck out at night and had so many secret hiding spots you couldn’t count them on your fingers, and they put notes in each other’s robes that had stupid jokes and badly drawn pictures in them. They recommended Muggle literature to each other, because it had become a guilty pleasure for both of them. Emma’s desk was filled with photos showcasing Emma giving Regina a noogie, or Regina pretending to punch Emma in the face, and one of them was the two playfully dancing and making absolute fools of themselves.  
“I like her _so_ much,” Emma had cried, snuggled into Ruby’s arms as they sat in a large loveseat near a crackling fireplace. It was almost 10 o’clock in the evening and most of the students had gone to bed, but Emma and Ruby liked sitting down there alone while they giggled and talked. “She’s so pretty and I’m so _gay_ but she would never like girls, Ruby, she would never like _me_.”  
Ruby was running her fingers through Emma’s blonde curls. “Hey, shortstack it’s gonna be okay.” Shortstack had been a nickname for Emma, as during Emma’s first year, she could barely be considered five feet on her tiptoes while Ruby was damn near approaching 5’8 at thirteen. Emma quickly grew into her big feet and wide smile, though, and had grown more than half a foot in four years. Ruby, still beating Emma by a few inches, still playfully mocked her about it.  
“How do you know?” grumbled Emma, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt and sniffling.  
“Because it’s like a ritual, right? You’re not truly gay until you fall for a straight girl,” Ruby said, shrugging, trying to bring Emma’s mood up.  
Emma slumped further into the loveseat, moaning. “Well, I hate this so called ‘ritual’.” She looked at Ruby, an apology voiced in her eyes as she whispered, “I wanna go to bed.”  
“Then let’s go,” said Ruby, and she helped Emma get to her dorm room that night.  
They didn’t talk about it that much afterwards, except one day at the N.E.W.T. tests were approaching, Emma marched into Ruby’s dorm room and slammed herself on Ruby’s bed, her ears practically smoking.  
“Woah, girl, you okay? You didn’t even knock.” Ruby looked up from the studying she had been doing.  
“Robin. Fucking. _Wald_ ,” she huffed, she arms tightly crossed and sitting on her chest.  
“He’s a Gryffindor Beater, right?” Ruby asked.  
“And an _asshole_!” yelled Emma.   
“Why? What’d he do? I’ll end him if you want me to.” Ruby narrowed her eyes. Emma didn’t usually hate people, so she was prepared to skin the guy alive.  
Emma managed to shout a, “He’s Regina’s boyfriend!”, before bursting into tears.  
“Oh god, baby, I’m so sorry,” Ruby said, dumping her books on the floor and sitting next to Emma so she could hold her. “That sucks.”  
Emma ignored the tears streaming down her cheeks. She sat, silent, for several minutes. “He’s so dumb,” was the first thing she said.  
“Yeah, all boys are. That’s why I say swear ‘em off completely!”  
Emma hid her laugh as a scoff. “I’m gonna go study and blast music to drown my sorrows.”  
“Well,” Ruby said, “it could be alcohol.” She shrugged. “If you need me, come get me, okay?”  
Emma nodded, getting up, ready the highlight the _fuck_ out of her notes.

Regina ended up dating Robin until the middle of her sixth year. Emma felt like throwing a party afterwards. Instead, she sent a Howler to Ruby that said something along the lines of “MY GAY HEART IS RACING AND I’M GONNA GO RUN FOR THREE HOURS WHILE SCREAMING BECAUSE I’M SO HAPPY BYE”.

It seemed that not too long after, it was a month of two until seventh year ended. Emma was freaked out because she had no idea what to do for a living and Regina was upset because her decisions were being controlled by her mother. They still snuck out and talked during the night, and multiple times hid in closets (and maybe the Room of Requirement that one time? They were never sure) and bathrooms to escape the midnight janitors.  
One day, Emma was looking at the Muggle section in the library, contemplating whether she should reread Dickens or Shakespeare when Regina power walked to her, grabbing the sleeve of her robe.  
“I need to ask you something,” Regina hissed into Emma’s ear.  
“Yeah? What is it?” Emma’s eyes were still on the bookshelf, and before she could grab the battered copy of Hamlet, Regina started to tug her out of the library.  
“In _private_.”

They walked until they found a random corridor, Emma panting, Regina having barely a hair out of place.  
“What did you need to say so badly that you pulled me out of the library?” said Emma, fixing her hair (or, at least making it look less wild).  
“I think I’m a lesbian,” Regina said, and it seemed as if someone magicked all the air out of Emma, her breath stopping, and she choked.  
“Are you okay?” Regina asked, leaning towards Emma, but Emma waved her away.  
“I’m fine,” Emma rasped, “just… surprised.”  
“Are you mad?” A look of fear crossed Regina’s eyes.  
“No!” Emma held up her hands. “But… what makes you think you’re a lesbian?”  
“I may…” Regina started to blush. “I may have feelings for someone.”  
“You have a crush?” Emma’s shoulder slumped. She muttered, “Well, I guess that’s how I found out…” and Regina froze, looking at Emma.  
“Wait, _you’re_ a lesbian?” said Regina.  
Emma raised an eyebrow. “Was it not obvious?”  
“You never told me!”  
“Regina,” sighed Emma. “I have two words. _Ginny Weasley_.”  
Regina shrugged. “I thought it was admiration.”  
Emma shook her head, running a hand through her hair, “No, Regina, it was more than that. But enough about _my_ sexuality. I’ve known for, like, two years now.” She looked at Regina. “Who do you like?”  
“I…” Regina looked at Emma. A curious look was on her face, but it hid something else, too, something Regina couldn’t recognize. She had switched from glasses to contacts their fourth year, so her bright green eyes were clearly visible, and so were the splashes of freckles on her nose. Her hands were gently on her hips, and sleeves of her sweater were pushed up to her elbows -   
“You’re staring at me, Regina,” stated Emma.  
“Oh, I was?” Regina could _feel_ the warmth of her blush spread through her cheeks. “I didn’t realize.”  
But Emma didn’t buy it, and her eyes narrowed. She inched closer towards Regina. “Really? I doubt it.”  
“It doesn’t matter,” said Regina, and she felt frazzled. Emma was a only a small distance from her face now, and her heart was going a mile a minute.  
“Who do you like?” Emma whispered.  
“Why does it matter?” Regina tried retorting back, and Emma snorted, cupping Regina’s face.  
“Because I’ve been in love with you for almost three years, stupid.” And Emma kissed her.  
Regina could feel every hair on her arms raise and she was so nervous she felt like she was going to throw up all of her organs and then she’d be dead but holy Helga on a stick this felt so _good_ and Emma’s lips and hands felt so _soft_ and _warm_ and _right_. Emma’s fingers were starting to thread through Regina’s hair and Regina’s shaking arms slowly made their way up to wrap around Emma’s neck and rest at her shoulders as she started to kiss her back.  
Maybe the kiss lasted three seconds, three minutes, maybe it lasted three hours, it was hard for Regina to keep track of time as Emma’s lips were on hers, but she felt disappointed when Emma stopped. Her eyes stared into Regina’s.  
“You like _me_ , right?” asked Emma. “Because if it wasn’t me, this would be awkward.” Emma laughed nervously, a teasing smile plastered on her face.  
“Of course it was you, you idiot.” And Regina kissed Emma before she could say anything back.  
A few small kisses had been shared before a coughing interrupted them. Regina and Emma whirled around to see the Potions teacher, Professor Thropp, her red hair tied in a low ponytail and her light blue eyes inquisitive.   
“Hey, Professor Thropp,” Emma breathed, unhanding Regina, and Regina unwrapping her arms from Emma. “What’s up?”  
“If you leave right now, I won’t tell either of your parents what I saw.” Professor Thropp crossed her arms, and it was obvious she was holding in a laugh.  
“Saw what?” Regina said innocently. “C’mon, Emma, let’s go.” She took Emma’s hand and the left the corridor as quickly as they could without breaking into a run.  
“If you insist!” Emma said, and followed Regina’s lead.


End file.
